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If you use multiple iOS devices, such as an iPhone and an iPad, it’s a good idea to sync your iPhone and iPad to access your files anywhere. For example, you can store your personal IDs, business or financial documents, and other important files in a folder on your iPhone that is automatically synced to your iPad so that they’re readily available to you in case your iPhone battery dies or gets stolen. You may also want to sync your iPhone and iPad to get access to files stored on your iPhone so that you can view or edit them on the larger screen of the iPad. There are a number of reasons why you would want to learn how to sync iPhone and iPad, and in this guide, we’re going to explain everything you need to know about syncing iPhones and iPads.
Before we start, it’s important to understand that Apple already offers a way to sync your iPhone and iPad via its iCloud service. Unfortunately, you only get a meager 5GB of storage for your entire account. Considering that the base model iPhones and iPads start with 128GB of storage, the average person has to upgrade to iCloud+ plans, which means paying monthly for additional storage.
If you’re faced with the question, “How do you sync iPhone and iPad without iCloud?” don’t worry! Documents by Readdle lets you set up two-way synchronization between two or more iOS devices using any cloud storage service you choose, such as Google Drive, Microsoft’s OneDrive, Dropbox, Box.com, etc. Whenever you add any new file to a folder that is set up for syncing, it’ll automatically sync and become available on the other devices. Here’s how you can do this on your iPhone and iPad without having to rely on or pay for iCloud+. Download Documents for Free from the App Store to get started.
Now, let us learn how to sync files between iOS devices in this detailed guide below.
How to sync iPhone and iPad
- Get Documents from the App Store and launch the app.
- Tap the + button at the bottom right and tap Add Connection.
- Select the cloud storage service that you want to sync with.
- Sign in with your account and complete the setup wizard, then open the folder for your cloud service shown in the My Files tab.
- To sync any folder on your device, simply tap the three dots (...) under the folder name, then tap Sync.
- To sync multiple folders, tap the three dots at the top right, then tap on Select. Mark the folders you want to sync across your iOS devices, then tap the three dots (...) at the bottom right of the screen, and then tap Sync.
- Once the sync is set up, you will find a new orange-colored folder in My Files called Synced Folders. This folder gives you one tap access and contains all your files that will be synced across devices.
Once the sync process is completed, all the files from a synced folder are available locally on your device, so you can work with them when you're offline. You can sync the same folder on your iPhone and iPad, and Documents keeps files up to date between both your devices as well as cloud storage.
By default, Documents syncs the folders automatically once you’re connected to Wi-Fi. You can also allow the app to sync folders over a cellular network or disable the automatic sync. To change the sync options, go to Settings > Cloud & Connections and select your desired option under Automatic Sync.
You can also sync a folder manually whenever you wish. Tap … More on a synced folder and select Sync Now. The folder will be synced immediately. Moreover, you can set the sync on pause by tapping Pause Sync.
To disable the sync, tap … More on a synced folder and select Delete. This will remove the local copy of the sync folder from Documents while the corresponding folder on the cloud service remains unchanged. To know more about the two-way folder sync feature in Documents, please refer to this help center article.
To get started with syncing your iPhone and iPad, download Documents for Free from the App Store.